Quadrophenia
by rockerchik777
Summary: 4 songfics (each is a chapter). This story is about Zack's struggles with life and love. However, this is not an average story, it's really, really different! So take a look! Read and review!
1. The Real Me

-Sorry that I haven't done any updating or anything on my other story, but I went on vacation. And I sort of forgot how I was going to end Every Breath You Take. So I'm not going to write that one anymore. Dreadfully sorry (apple scrumping!). Instead, I'm writing this new fic. It's called Quadrophenia and it's going to be four songfics using songs from the album Quadrophenia by The Who. So here it goes! This chapter's song: The Real Me!-

Zack sat on his bed in his room, doing his homework. He didn't have that much, even though he was a junior in high school. But though he didn't have too much to do for math, what he did have to do was extremely hard, and he didn't get it at all. Zack wished that he could reach over to the phone and call Laurence.

But then again, Laurence would never help him. No one would help him. Everything had changed since high school had started. There were three private high schools in the district, Horace Green, Manning, and Roosevelt. Most of the band went to Horace Green High, while Alicia, Marta, Laurence, Billy, Eleni, and Michelle went to Roosevelt. And Zack went to Manning. He was the only member of the band there, and he kept to himself, hardly ever speaking.

To make matters worse, the three schools were highly competitive with each other. So all of Zack's best friends turned on him. He was no longer Zack, their friend, but a student from Manning. And really, that was all that mattered anymore. Band practices had become difficult and it was probable that the band would break up within the year.

So Zack couldn't call Laurence, or anyone else. He would just have to struggle to get his math work done before 6:30, because he had a doctor's appointment. At least, that's what his parents called it. He knew that it was just another shrink. And yeah, he'd been having some problems lately because of the situation with the band, but he could deal with it himself! And besides, that doctor didn't care about him, he just cared about money. So what was the point? The doctor would listen to Zack ranting all night and would probably never even catch what his name was.

_Can you see the real me?  
Can ya?  
Can ya?_

Eventually Zack understood his homework, and he finished it right about the time that his mother called him down to go to the doctor. He hopped in the car with her and awaited what was surely to be his doom. And another shrink too. He had to keep getting new ones because no one wanted to see him twice.

_I went back to the doctor  
To get another shrink  
I sit and tell him bout my weekend  
But he never betrays what he thinks_

The shrink hadn't said anything the whole time, not even, "And how do you feel about that?". Zack knew that the doctor probably hadn't been listening for half the time. That doctor didn't know him, didn't know anything about him. Even though Zack had spent the last two hours with him. Now Zack sat on the curb outside the office, waiting for his dad to pick him up.

__

Can you see the real me, Doctor?  
Doctor?  
Can you see the real me, Doctor?  
Woah, Doctor!

When his dad got there, he hopped in the car, but didn't say anything. He didn't enjoy discussing his trips to the doctor. Unfortunately, his father wouldn't tolerate silence.

"So, how was it?"

"Okay."

"Do we need to schedule another appointment?"

"It's never going to get any better."

Mr. Mooneyham appeared a bit baffled by his son's words and the rest of the trip home was silent. When they reached the Mooneyham residence, Zack tried to run straight up to his room, but his mother wasn't going to let him get away so easily. She was obviously smashed and was speaking with a British accent, which she often did when she was drunk.

"Hey Zack!" she yelled, "How'd it go?" "I'm officially crazy," Zack replied. "Me too," said Mrs. Mooneyham, "It must run in the family." Zack shook his head and ran upstairs. The farther away from her when she was drunk, the better. Ever since her alcohol problem had started, she'd had no time for Zack. She really didn't care. She probably wouldn't have been able to tell him what school he went to, even if she was sober.

_I went back to my mother  
I said "I'm crazy ma, help me"  
She said "I know how it feels son  
Cause it runs in the family"  
Can you see the real me, Mama?  
Mama?  
Can you see the real me, Mama?  
Woah, Mama!_

Zack went to bed early because he had nothing else to do. He couldn't wait for tomorrow, because tomorrow he had band practice. It was his only extracurricular activity. And although his parents didn't really approve of it, they wanted him to do something. But band practice didn't just mean something to do, it also meant Katie. Katie. Zack remembered how he had liked her since seventh grade, and he was pretty sure by eighth grade that she liked him too. So he had gotten up the nerve to ask her out. Only one thing had gone wrong: high school. She had said no because she would be going to a different school. He hadn't understood it then, but he understood it now.

He still loved her, but he didn't. It was a strange feeling that he simply couldn't explain. So he hardly spoke to her ever. Not that she wanted to speak to him now.

The next day, Zack got up and started walking to school. He didn't have a car, but the walk wasn't that long. He could feel eyes on him. He saw his old best friend Freddy's car whiz by, and knew that Katie was probably in there with Freddy. And that they were also probably laughing at him. Zack walked past Katie's yellow house and stared at it longingly for about a second, then continued walking. He remembered the incident yesterday when he had been walking home from school and she had been getting the mail.

She turned her nose up and acted like he didn't exist; she didn't want to know him anymore.

_The cracks between the paving stones  
Look like rivers of flowing veins  
Strange people who know me  
Peeping from behind every window pane  
The girl I used to love  
Lives in this yellow house  
Yesterday she passed me by  
She doesn't wanna know me now_

In fact, no one really wanted to know him. Not his parents, not his band mates. Except for Dewey. Dewey was always there for him. But probably not for much longer. The tensions in the band were high, and Zack knew that School of Rock could only survive for a few more months. And then he would have no one. Nobody would even care if he died.

_Can you see the real me?  
Can ya?  
Can ya?  
Can you see the real me?  
Can ya?  
Whoa, yeah!_

The day passed by normally, with Zack not saying a single word and eating by himself. When school ended, he checked his watch. He had thirty minutes till band practice started. The only thing he could really do was go to church and confess his sins. So he did.

The preacher appeared a bit appalled when Zack walked into the sanctuary wearing faded jeans, Converse sneakers, and a shirt that said: If Led Zeppelin ruled the world, only then would I be happy. But Zack was not thrown off in the least. He confessed his sins and felt cleansed. Then he headed to Dewey's apartment for practice.

_I ended up with a preacher  
Full of lies and hate_

I seemed to scare him a little  
So he showed me to the golden gate  
Can you see the real me, preacher?  
Preacher?  
Can you see the real me, preacher?  
Preacher?

Zack went to practice and played his guitar as best he could without saying a word. Then he walked home, and realized that no one really knew him. None knew the real Zack.

_Can you see  
Can you see  
Can you see  
Woah  
Can you see the real me, Doctor?  
Can you see the real me, Ma?  
Can you see the real me?_

-So was it really good? Or excruciatingly bad? I wanna know, so please review!!!-


	2. I'm One

-This chapter's song: I'm One. Thank you very much to my two reviewers! Oh yeah and I don't own anything except the idea, the songs all belong to Pete Townshend (who is the coolest guy EVER!)-

Zack was sitting on his bed again, contemplating his life. He realized that he would probably never be able to do anything great or awesome. He was just another loser. He felt very lonely because nobody was there for him. Not his parents, not the band. Except for Dewey. But he only saw Dewey on Thursdays.

Now it was Friday, and there would be no band practice. So Zack sat on his bed feeling very sorry for himself. He wished that he had something to do, and remembered what he had heard at practice the day before.

__

Every year it's the same  
And I feel it again  
I'm a loser - no chance to win  
Leaves start falling  
Comedown is calling  
Loneliness starts sinking in

The information was clearly not for his ears, but Freddy was never able to really whisper anything. Freddy was having a huge party at his house because his parents were in Nantucket for the weekend. Zack wasn't invited, but he was sure that with all the people there, no one would notice him. And he would get to see Katie. That was all that mattered.

Zack changed out of his Sex Pistols shirt and put on a plain black one. He laced up his Converse sneakers and went downstairs. "Hey Mom," he said, "Can I borrow your car for tonight?" For once his mother wasn't drunk. She handed him the keys to her car and then headed for the fridge. She'd be smashed by the time he got back.

He drove to Freddy's house, which was only a few blocks away. He felt strange being alone in his car. Everyone else would probably have a date to this thing. He wasn't even actually invited. But he would just have to prove to them that he deserved to hang out with them.

_But I'm one  
I'm one  
And I can see  
That this is me  
And I will be  
You'll all see that  
I'm the one  
_When he got to Freddy's house he could see that the door was wide open and music was blaring from the house. Once he was inside, he could see that strobe lights had been set up everywhere. Zack didn't really know what to do so he just stood there for a minute. Then he sighted Katie. She was standing by herself over in a corner. She had on tight faded jeans and a maroon tank top with spaghetti straps. It seemed strange to Zack that she was alone, but then he saw that she was getting herself a beer. Katie looked so good all the time, she managed to walk in a way that was both normal and seductive. He watched her walking and didn't realize how long he'd been watching her until she went to get another beer.

__

Where do you get those blue blue jeans  
Faded, patch secret so tight  
Where do you get that walk oh-so lean  
Your shoes and your shirt all just right

Zack moved away from the door and towards the keg. Katie had already filled up and walked off, but he really needed a drink. He was used to alcohol because most of the time it was the only drink in his house. He took a swig, and then another, and then he just drank the whole thing and filled up again. He felt strange after his third, he felt both totally alone and yet connected with everyone in the room. But then his senses kicked in and he knew that he really was alone in this party with people who either didn't know him or hated him.

_But I'm one  
I'm one  
And I can see  
That this is me  
And I will be  
You'll all see that  
I'm the one_

Zack got a fourth beer and filled up. He was about to walk away when Katie came and filled up. She was mellowed out by the alcohol and seemed to forget about how she didn't know him anymore. "Hey," she said, then she walked away. Zack watched her move away, and then sip her beer until it was empty, but she didn't come back to get a refill. She moved into the center of Freddy's living room, which had become the dance floor.

Lots of guys that Zack didn't know, and a few that he did, went out and started dancing with her. It was weird because Zack had dressed carefully, not wearing any band shirts in case someone didn't like that band or something. He had worn a plain black shirt, which actually was kind of the style. So how come all the guys out there with Katie looked so great in their white t-shirts, covered in stains?

It seemed that their clothes just fit better. He couldn't really explain it. They did everything worse than him, but looked good doing it. And then he decided to not look at Katie anymore. He saw a case sitting by the door and figured it was Katie's bass. She took it lots of places. He didn't have a case for his white Gibson Flying V. His parents wouldn't get him one. So he just carried it around by the neck.

_I got a Gibson without a case  
But I can't get that even tanned look on my face  
Ill fitting clothes and I blend in the crowd  
Fingers so clumsy  
Voice too loud_

He went to get another beer. How many had he had now? Six? Seven? He had lost track. He refilled his plastic cup and saw Katie walking towards him. Was this really happening? "Hi," she said. "Hey," he replied.

"So I haven't really talked to you in a while."

"Yeah."

"You know, when I saw you here, I started thinking about that time when you asked me out. I really did like you."

"Then why'd you say no?"

"It was just too crazy, we'd be going to different schools the next year, schools that were really competitive. I didn't want you to become my enemy after the summer."

"But you did."

"Yeah, but it's all a flippin' act. I still like you Zack."

Zack couldn't believe it. This was what he had always been hoping for. He refilled his beer and Katie did the same. They were both totally drunk. Zack knew that all the things Katie was saying probably weren't true because she was drunk, but he didn't care. He was going to take advantage of this moment. They drank some more beer, so much that they were barely coherent. Eventually, Zack asked Katie, "Hey, you wanna go upstairs?"

She followed him up the stairs.

---

The next morning, Zack woke up in a bed in Freddy's house and saw that Katie was laying beside him. He was in his boxers and saw his clothes strewn on the floor beside the bed. Katie was in her underwear. Zack could guess easily enough what had happened, and he quickly got dressed and ran down the stairs to his car. He was groggy and had an extreme hangover. Luckily, his parents wouldn't care that he hadn't been home last night. His mother would be too drunk to notice and his father would have gotten home so late that he would've gone straight to bed.

When Zack got home he took some Tylenol and sat on the couch in his living room, wondering if the night before had really happened. He didn't really remember much, in fact, he could hardly remember anything. He turned on the TV. It was on the History Channel. It was a program called The Battle for 60's England: Mods vs. Rockers. He watched it and then, when it was over, fell asleep.

Zack spent most of the rest of his weekend on the couch, sleeping off his hangover. On Monday morning, he felt normal, but a little happier because he had band practice that afternoon. He couldn't focus at school because all day he was thinking about Katie and what he would say to her. When it was finally time for practice, and everyone arrived, Zack smiled across the room to Katie. She sneered back at him.

Zack realized that Katie remembered nothing of the night they had spent together, not even when they were talking. She probably thought when she woke up in the bed that she had crashed at Freddy's because she was totally smashed.

And Zack realized again that he was totally and completely alone in the world. One person that no one cared for. He was one.

_But I'm one  
I'm one  
And I can see  
That this is me  
And I will be  
You'll all see that  
I'm the one  
I'm the one  
Yeah, I'm the one_

-REVIEW PLEASE!!!-__


	3. Sea and Sand

-Okay, thanks to everyone that has reviewed my story, there's not many of you, but I've never gotten lots of reviews anyways, so I don't really care. This chapters song will be Sea and Sand.-

Zack was at band practice the next day when he heard things being whispered about a weekend at the beach. It seemed everyone was invited except for him. But he wanted to go, so he would. He decided to sneak out on Friday and take his mother's car. Hopefully she'd be drunk and wouldn't care.

---

Zack got home from school on Friday to find that both his parents were drunk. It wasn't even happy hour yet! He tried to take all the rest of the beers out of the fridge, but his mother caught him and started screaming at him. "You get out of this house! Don't you ever come back again!" she screamed in a British accent. Then his father started ranting and raving about morality. His mother continued to scream, and Zack ran up to his room.

He grabbed a duffel bag and packed it with all the clothes he could fit, along with most of his CD's and his Walkman. He grabbed his toothbrush, toothpaste, and other necessary things like that. Then he picked up his lying V lovingly and hoisted its strap over his shoulder. He had his wallet, but there was only twenty dollars in it, so he went into his parents room and took two one hundred dollar bills that his father was going to use to buy a new rug. Too bad for him.

While in his parents room, Zack also grabbed the keys to his mom's car. Then he ran out the door. His mother kept screaming "Good riddance!" over and over. He floored the gas and then slowed down once he was on the main roads. Thank God he was out of there. But really, he should have left a long time ago. He didn't need to put up with their shit.

An hour later, he had reached the coast and checked into the hotel that he had heard the other kids whispering about. It was really nice, but he got the cheapest room he could find. When he was up in his room, he changed from Converse sneakers to a pair of sandals and walked down to the beach. There was a boardwalk right outside the hotel, so the walk took him almost no time at all.

Once he was on the beach, he saw the rest of School of Rock partying like crazy. There was a huge cooler filled with cans of beer. He went and grabbed one and started drinking. He started walking away to sit a little farther away an watch when he heard Freddy's voice.

"Hey! You! Stop! That's our beer!"

Zack turned around and when Freddy saw him his mouth went into an O. Then he smiled wickedly. "What are you doing here, Mooneyham?" he asked with a sneer. Zack said, "It's a free beach." and walked off to sit in the sand. He looked around to see if Katie was there, and saw her walking towards the cooler. She grabbed two beers and he watched her drain both of them. By this time, he was out of beer too and went to get another.

She too went to get another. She didn't see him, however, so he went back to sit in the sand again. Zack watched the sea roll with small waves and sipped his beer quietly.

_Here by the sea and sand_

Nothing ever goes as planned,

I just couldn't face going home

It was just a drag on my own.

They finally threw me out

My mother got drunk on stout,

My dad couldn't stand on two feet,

As he lectured about morality.

Now I guess the families complete,

With me hanging round on the street

Or here on the beach.

Zack drank a few more beers and watched the party raging. Some people danced, and some people passed out. Once he decided that everyone was drunk enough to not care that he was there, he went to where Katie and Summer were hanging out. They were smoking some cigarettes and offered him one. He took it but only sucked in once before putting it out. He'd never really liked smoking.

Instead, he watched Katie. he'd been doing that a lot lately. She was dressed to perfection. She was wearing jeans despite the fact that they were on the beach, and she made it look cool. She also had on a plain white t-shirt and a pair of black flip-flops on. She always looked so perfect, it didn't matter what she had on. Zack knew that he had to make himself desirable to her. the question was simply how. Maybe he could dress a little bit like her, not exactly, but sort of.

_The girl I love_

Is a perfect dresser,

Wears every fashion

Gets it to the tee.

Heavens above,

I got to match her

She knows just how S

She wants her man to be

Leave it to me.

Zack thought back to the TV show he had watched a few days before. If he were a mod, it's be cool and in style to wear zoot suits and ride scooters around. Unfortunately, it was not the mod era. And he had no clue what to wear, but he guessed that he couldn't go wrong with something solid black or white and expensive. Right now he was wearing the thing he had just described, a black t-shirt, really expensive, the same one he had worn to the party a week ago.

_My jacket's gonna be cut slim and checked_

Maybe a touch of seersucker with an open neck

I ride a G. S. scooter with my hair cut neat

I wear my wartime coat in the wind and sleet

Most of the other guys at the party were wearing similar shirts, but they looked a little cheaper. And still they managed to look better. Zack didn't dwell on this too long. He saw Katie dancing, saw her beautiful smile. He went up and started dancing with her, and she didn't push him away. Instead, she drew closer to him. She was actually acting like she liked him!

Zack felt a feeling, but he didn't really know what it was. Probably a mix of exhilaration and love.

_I see her dancing_

Across the ballroom

UV light making starshine

Of her smile.

I am the face,

She has to know me,

I'm dressed up better than anyone

Within a mile.

Then a couple of other guys came up, wanting to dance with Katie. They didn't wear nice clothes, but they looked nicer than Zack. Surprisingly, she pushed them away. Zack realized that every girl that he'd ever met was stupid besides Katie. He didn't know why he thought of that just now, but he thought of it just the same.

He'd had crushes on lots of girls. But when he met them, they would turn out to have no brains and no wit. Most girls were extremely boring, but Katie was a rare exception. She was perfect, she was funny, she was everything that was good. So different from the other foolish girls.

_So how come the other tickets look much better?_

Without a penny to spend they dress to the letter.

How come the girls come on oh so cool

Yet when you meet 'em, every one's a fool?

Soon, Zack and Katie moved away from the crowd, and they saw that many other couples had done the same. They went to a place high up on the beach, high enough that when high tide came in, they wouldn't get wet. They started kissing passionately and Zack knew that this was everything he wanted. He also knew that he probably wouldn't remember it. But it didn't matter to him. All that mattered was now. They had sex together and then fell asleep on the beach.

Or at least, Katie fell asleep. Zack stayed awake and kept his arm around Katie's slim waist. It felt so good to be laying beside her. If he died at this moment, he really wouldn't care, because she was beside him. It got colder, and the waves drew closer and closer.

They hit him and Katie eventually, so he carefully moved her even higher up the beach. He held onto her body and fell asleep in bliss.

_Come sleep on the beach_

Keep within my reach

I just want to die with you near I

I'm feeling so high with you here.

I'm wet and I'm cold

The next morning came and Zack woke up with a very minor hangover. It was probably lessened because he had stayed up so late. Katie was still beside him, sleeping. Zack knew that everything in his life was going perfectly. he was young, thank God for that. And he didn't have to go back home. Really, he should have left a long time ago. His thoughts were a little bit mixed and for a moment he forgot what city he was in, but then he remembered. Most of the images of the night before were gone, except for the part where he and Katie had moved away from the crowd.

Yes, right now, laying in the sand, life was perfect.

_But thank God I ain't old_

I should have split home at fifteen

Why didn't I ever say what I mean?

There's a story that the grass is so green,

What did I see?

Where have I been?

Katie woke up soon after. She felt someone's arms around her and groaned a little. She didn't remember anything that had happened last night. She looked to see who was holding her so tenderly and saw Zack. "What the hell are you doing, Mooneyham?" she screamed. She jumped up and threw on her clothes as quickly as possible.

Zack had a sad look in his eyes and felt the same in his heart. She didn't remember anything about last night. He loved her so much, and this fact broke his heart. He would never have planned the morning to start like this. But then...

_Nothing is planned, by the sea and the sand_

-Good? Bad? Something else? REVIEW!!!-

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	4. Love Reign O'er Me

-Please excuse the lateness of this chapter. I've been on vacation, and then when I got back I started to write this chapter, and was almost finished, when my dad accidentally deleted all the documents on our computer. I'd like to thank Swimmerkitti, my only reviewer from the last chapter. This is the final chapter, and the song for it will be Love Reign O'er Me.-

Zack was laying on the beach, alone. All the other kids had gone inside after they woke up, but he stayed. It was still really early, and he was the only person on the beach. He was thinking about all the things that had happened to him in the past week or so. And he realized that everything in the world was a let down.

He tilted his head a little so that he could the waves. It wasn't a very comfortable position, but when had he really ever been very comfortable? The waves crashed against the beach over and over. He watched them for a long time, and then it started to rain. Not a light sprinkling of rain, but a downpour. Zack let it hit him.

The waves crashed harder and harder on the beach, gaining momentum from the rain. Zack felt transfixed by it all, and stared at the waves as the raindrops fell on him and got him soaked.

_Only love_

Can make it rain

The way the beach

Is kissed by the sea

He felt the sand underneath him, the same sand that had been underneath Katie too, not so long ago. Zack thought about the night before, and the night a week before this. The memories brought him a lot of pain, and also a bit of longing. He picked up some sand in his hand and rubbed it against his hands roughly.

The sand was rough and had little bits of shell in it, and the pain from it took Zack's mind off the thought of him laying next to Katie, at least for a little while.

_Only love_

Can make it rain

Like the sweat of lovers

Laying in the fields

Only one word was going through Zack's head right now: love. Love, love, love, love, love. It tormented him, it gave him a little bit of what he wanted and then took everything away. And people told him love was a "happy emotion". Yeah right.

Love wasn't happy. Love was the saddest thing in the world. It was a lot like rain. Rain was another of the saddest things in the world. But the saddest thing of all was that love and rain were necessary, love for people, and rain for grass. But love was different from rain because it was something you couldn't explain, a feeling inside, a certain kind, where you feel hot and cold way down in your soul.

Zack knew then that love sucked, but it was also the greatest thing in the world. And that sucked even more.

_Love_

Reign o'er me

Love

Reign o'er me

Reign o'er me

Rain on me

Zack switched to a sitting position and gazed up at the sky. He could see tons of droplets coming down from the heavens, and he wished that he was in heaven. Or hell, for that matter. Just as long as he was anywhere but on the earth.

He knew that he had the power to do it, to end his life right then and there. he gazed at the ocean. Murky. Good. Maybe a shark would bite him, and he could be free of love and Katie and his drunk mother and everything forever. Zack stood up and walked towards the sea. He waded in up to water that covered half his chest. The waves kept coming down, and they were getting rougher and rougher. One came down on him and forced him under.

His face was pushed into the sand at the bottom of the ocean, and the little shells in it scratched his face, and the salt water flowed over every one of his tiny wounds. He tried to come up out of the water, but he couldn't. He wanted to scream, but knew that he would die right then. And it was right then that he realized something: he didn't want to die. He had to live!

And with that thought he pushed up with all his might and broke the surface. Zack took gasps of breath until he could breath normally again, and started to make his way back to the shore.

_Only love_

Can bring the rain

That makes you yearn

To the sky

He was running back to the shore. he was almost there, but it was difficult to run in the water. He tripped and fell flat on his face. He didn't have the strength to get up, so he crawled to the safety of the sand.

Zack started to cry. He couldn't really help it. everything was taking its toll on him now. Don't be stupid, he thought, crying is for girls. But he couldn't hold back the tears. The rain still fell on him. If he hadn't been completely soaked before he went into the water, he was now.

The rain mixed with his tears as both fell to the ground. The rain was almost like the tears of God, falling from heaven. It was almost as if God was crying for Zack, and for all that Zack had been through. You know stuff really sucks when God cries for you too, Zack thought.

_Only love_

Can bring the rain

That falls like tears

From on high

Zack's tears stopped flowing and he thought again of Katie. He thought about the love he felt for her. And how much his entire life just completely sucked. How his life was run by love.

_Love_

Reign o'er me

Love

Reign o'er me

Reign o'er me

Rain on me

Zack thought about what the rest of his life would be like. He would never spend another night with Katie ever again. The thought seemed to make his life worthless. But he was only a teenager, surely he'd get over it sometime, right? The thought didn't convince him very much.

He dreaded the night. It would bring so many painful memories.

_On the dry and dusty road_

The nights we spent apart, alone

He seemed to realize just then that he was soaking wet and cold. He had to get back home. He just couldn't stay here any longer. He got up and walked slowly back to the hotel. He walked in and saw Katie and Freddy drinking coffee in the lobby. "Look what the wind blew in!" Freddy yelled, and Katie laughed. Zack tried to look strong on the outside, but on the inside, her laughter hurt him more than anything in the world.

Zack went up to his room and took a shower, and put on some clean, dry clothes. He had to get back home, now. He packed up his suitcase and headed out to the elevator. A bellboy offered to carry his bags, but he said, "Oh no thanks, I can do it myself."

He reached the lobby again and this time, more of the gang from the band was congregated in the lobby. They all pointed and laughed. He ignored them and checked out at the front desk, then went out to his car. He was going home.

_I need to get back home_

To cool, cool rain

He drove the car in complete silence. the radio was off. Zack didn't look forward to going home to his parents. He didn't know what was going to happen. He drove faster and got home quicker.

Zack parked in the driveway and walked into the house. He found that his parents were still asleep, probably having major hangovers. He was having a little bit of one himself.

The day passed. His mom and dad got up around one in the afternoon and complained for the rest of the day. They didn't seem to remember that they had sent him off the night before, and they had no idea that he had gone to the coast. The less they knew, the better. Zack went to bed early.

It was a hot night, really hot. Zack slept on top of his covers and was still burning up. He couldn't sleep so he thought about everything that had happened. Then he heard the pattering of rain on his window. He needed to lay out in the rain. He needed the rain to fall like sweet redemption upon him.

Zack ran down the steps and out the door. He laid down in the middle of his yard and felt the rain fall down on him. It was nice and cool, it was perfect.

_I can't sleep and I lay and I think_

The night is hot and black as ink

Ooh oh God I need a drink

Of cool, cool rain

Katie's image lingered in his head, and Zack realized what he was. A prisoner of love, haunted forever by her face.

_Love_

Reign o'er me

O'er me

Love

Reign o'er me

Love

-That's it! Do you like the way it ended? I couldn't think of a better way to end it. REVIEW! Next I'm going to finish Every Breath You Take, then I've got another story planned. So look out for some new stuff! And REVIEW!!!!!!!!!!-

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